Getting to know you
by Fan1977
Summary: Sequel to "The one who got away" Elijah helps Hope and Hayley to get back on their feet as per his brother's wishes.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Elijah is pacing his room thinking about the last one year of his life. He has taken over New Orleans from Marcel and his vampires. Klaus is not interested in running the city. Elijah is seeing his brother happy for the first time in his life and he does not want to take that away from him. But Klaus helps him occasionally with problem which he alone cannot solve. One of the biggest problem Elijah is facing is the return of their parent who are relentless in their effort to kill them. The past month has been really busy and tiring. All of their plans and schemes have failed. Kol is getting frustrated by each day and Rebekah's panic is increasing. Klaus is just being Klaus. Since last two weeks Elijah has noticed a change in Klaus. He has stopped coming to compound until called by Elijah. Elijah knows he is hiding something because he can expect that from him. He confronted him one time but Klaus assured him nothing is wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Elijah gets a call from Klaus telling him that Hayley is in labor. He leaves everything and runs out telling Rebekah and Kol about her. Elijah enters the hospital and as he enters the corridor he stops and see Klaus and Mikael facing each other. Klaus looks at Elijah who notices the white oak stake in his hand and before he can do anything he sees his brother put the stake in his heart. Elijah screams "No" and he runs towards him but then he freezes because his body is in flame. He just stands there in shock and says "Nooooo" and for the first time in his life he collapses on his knees near his brother's body which is now in ashes. He hears Rebekah screaming from behind "No, no Nik". He turns just in time to see her running towards them and Mikael falling on the ground. His body has started to desiccate. Rebekah, Kol and Elijah look at Mikael desiccating body in shock when they hear the nurse come out and scream looking at the ash and a desiccated body. Kol suddenly whooshes to her and compel her. She looks gazed for a second and then smiles and totally ignoring the bodies she says "congratulations it is a girl".

A sob escapes Rebekah mouth. Elijah slowly gets up from the floor where he is still kneeling near his brother body and walks to her

"Can we see her?" he asks her. His voice is cracking and it seems someone is squeezing his heart. The nurse looks at him without noticing any odd behavior and says "she is a little premature so she is in incubator but still with her mother. If you want to see her she is in there". Elijah nods.

When she leaves Elijah composes himself and looks at Kol who is staring at his brother's ashes on the floor. Kol senses Elijah looking at him but refuses to look at him. He whooshes away and then comes back in a second with a vase in his hand. He moves towards them slowly and collects the ashes in the vase. Rebekah is silently crying so Elijah walks to her and engulf her in a hug. She loses it in his arms.

After a couple of minutes he looks up Kol had removed Mikael too. He looks at Kol and then detangles himself from Rebekah and wipes the tears that are falling on his cheek too. He steps back and says "Hayley needs us so let us compose ourselves". He then turns and walks towards her room. He stops for a second at the door and then enters.

Hayley is sitting on the bed and thinking about Klaus. She is very depressed by his behavior and she want so confront him about it when the door opens and Elijah enters in with Kol and Rebekah behind them. Elijah smiles at her but she notices that the smile has not reached his eyes. He walks around the bed to the incubator where a baby is lying down. He touches the glass wall of incubator. Hayley turns to him and smiles. She then asks "where is Klaus?"

Elijah jerks at that question and looks up slowly to her face and does not say anything. When she continues to stare at him he shakes his head. He sees realization hitting her and her eyes going in shock. She immediately looks at Rebekah and Kol who are also looking somber. She shakes her head and says "No, that cannot be. He was here just a couple of minutes ago. That cannot be".

When Rebekah tries to touch her hand she pulls them away and says "No that can't be. We were just talking".

Rebekah is about to say something when her cell rings. She absently picks it up and sees that it is Matt. She listens to him and then she says "Because Nik is gone, that is why they are all dead. His blood line is dying" Her eyes never left Hayley's face which has gone ash white now. The tears are falling uncontrollably from her eyes and then she gasps as she sees Hayley getting unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two days later**

Elijah gets out of his cars and is walking towards her room in the hospital and thinking about last two days. Hayley had a break down so the doctors wanted to keep her in the hospital for a couple of days. He opens the door to her room thinking about how she has spent the last two days. He enters the room and sees Rebekah sitting on the chair. She is holding someone in her arms. Elijah walks towards her when she looks up and says to the baby in her arm "Hey look who it is. This is your uncle Elijah. He is a bit serious but not bad" then she looks towards him and says "doctors checked her today and they say that she is dong perfectly and there might not be any need for incubator but they want to keep her in it as a precaution". Elijah nods and then his gaze shifts to Hayley who is sleeping. He hears her say "she has just slept" Rebekah says sadly

"Is she feeling any better?" Elijah asks her without taking his eyes off of her

"NO, she is the same. She just sits quietly and start to cry all of a sudden. She is aware of the baby. Doctors says it is severe depression. The doctors want her to nurse the baby which will help her depression and I think that is helping a bit. I see her relaxing down when she holds her next to her. But they have put the baby on bottle milk too just in case" Rebekah tells him

Then Elijah looks down at the baby and about to take her when Rebekah tells him "you wash your hands first so to avoid germs". When he looks confused she shrugs and says "I don't know doctors order".

Elijah looks at her for a couple of seconds and then washes his hand from the bathroom. As he comes back in the room he sees Kol standing next to Rebekah looking down at his niece. Kol has just touched her skin when Rebekah smacked his hand and says "Wash your hands first" at his scowl.

Hayley opens her eyes feeling groggy and still tired and the first thing she sees is Elijah sitting there with her daughter in his arms. He has not noticed that she is up so she soundlessly props herself up and keeps looking at them for a while and smiles. Then suddenly as if a film runs in her head and she remembers what has happened in the last two days and the smile slides. She vaguely remembers Rebekah telling her that Klaus is gone. A sigh escapes her mouth which makes Elijah realize that she is up.

Elijah is looking down at the baby. The baby has been sleeping ever since he held her. She is so small that his hand can engulf her whole head. He gently strokes her cheek which makes the baby stir and a tiny smile creeps on his face when he hears her gasp. He looks up and see that she is up. He gets up and walks towards her with the baby in his arms and hands her the baby. Then he stands back and looks at her. She is looking at her baby and the tears are sliding down on her cheek. Elijah, a 1000 year old vampire – the original vampire, feels so helpless. He does not know what to do? How to help her? He just stands there and lets her cry. Her loss is great so why stop her from crying. After a couple of minutes he gives her his handkerchief and says "Hayley that is enough, you are going to get sick. Think about your daughter, she needs her mother".

Hayley looks up at him with blurry eyes, takes the handkerchief from his outstretched arm and rests her head at the head board and wipes her eyes but the tears keep on coming. Then she hears him "have you thought about a name for her?"

Before he can stop himself the words are out "Did you and Niklaus have something in mind?"

He sees the jerking of her hand and then she looks up at him. After staring at her for a couple of seconds she shakes her head. "Well she needs a name before we leave the hospital"

She looks down at her daughter and asks him "what happened?"

Elijah has been expecting her to ask this question and was preparing himself to answer her "Hayley, I will tell you everything once I know too"

She looks at him and knows that he is hiding something from her so she asks again "You know something so please tell me what happened?"

Elijah sighs and says "I don't know the details but I do know that my father, my mother and Finn are gone with Niklaus as well"

Hayley looks at him in surprise "Your father!"

"Yes Hayley they have been back from their death a month ago and we have been trying to kill him but were not successful and now they are gone along with Niklaus" he sighs and says to her and then he starts to pace the room. After a short while he says "I don't know what happened".

HE stops and starts to look outside the window. When he hears the nurse saying "Oh good she is up, she needs to be nursed" he turns and notices that her head snap in his direction. He walks towards her and see that the baby's eyes are open. He is shocked to realize that they are the same shade of blue green that were his brothers. He bends down and gently kisses her on her forehead and looks up at Hayley and says "I will be back soon". He then leaves her.

Elijah is pacing his study while Kol and Rebekah sitting on the sofas when they hear a slight cough. Elijah stops pacing and sees Sophie walking in. she looks nervous so Elijah asks her "what is it Sophie?"

Sophie looks up into his eyes and says "I have something for you". Then she hands him over some envelopes. She then walks towards Kol and Rebekah who are looking at her with surprised expressions and hands them something too. Elijah opens the envelope with his name written on it while he puts the one with Hayley's name on the table.

Sophie is feeling very nervous. She does not know what is in the envelopes but Klaus was very particular about handing the envelopes over if the outcome of their plan is what has happened two days ago. She sees Elijah's face turning white as his eyes travel the length of the paper. She acknowledges surprise and shock on Kol's and Rebekah's faces while they are going through their letters.

Elijah cannot believe that his brother whom he has been trying to redeem for the past 1000 years would be so sentimental and sacrificial. He looks up at Sophie and says in an accusation "You knew. You have been working with him. You knew"

Sophie registers the anger on his face and says "yes I knew. I wanted to tell you but Klaus was very insistent about it. He knew that if you know the plan you would not let him go through it".

She cannot bear his body piercing gaze. She notices Kol getting up from his chair and going over to Elijah who outstretches his arm so that he can take the letter from his hand while his eyes not leaving her face. She has never seen him so angry. Then her attention diverts when she sees Kol angrily turn and throw everything from Elijah's table on the ground with a yell. Rebekah runs to Kol and takes the letter from his defeated hands. She gasps as she reads the letter and looks at Sophie.

"You guys need to understand there was no other way. We tried to do it without getting him involved first but it was more difficult to get to Finn, Esther or Mikael so Klaus suggested this idea… "She stops because she sees Elijah leaving the room.

Hayley is sitting on her bed staring in the empty space. The doctors have told her that she can go home but they want to keep the baby in the incubator for few more days. She looks towards the door when she hears something. For a second she think that it is Klaus and she smiles but then the door opens and Elijah comes in.

Elijah sees her smile falters. He walks to her and says "Hayley how are you feeling?"

"Better the doctor says that I can go back home but the baby will stay in the incubator for a few days" she can see that he is looking very serious and distracted

"You still have not thought about a name?" He says and when she shakes her head he nods. After a couple of silent moments between them he says to her "I have something for you".

He takes out the envelope from the inside pocket of coat and gives it to her. Hayley takes the envelope. Elijah looks down at her, turns and leaves. At the door he stops for a second, turns and sees that she is still holding the envelope and looking down at it sadly.

**_A week later_**

Hayley walks into the house with Hope in her arms. She is feeling very apprehensive. How will she live without him? She thinks and then her gaze fall on the painting on the wall and tears start to fall from her eyes.

Elijah looks around the house. This is the first time he has come back into his house ever since his brother has died. The first thing he notices is the paintings on the wall – the paintings that Klaus has made over this last 1000 years. He stops for a moment there and then turns towards Hayley. She is standing in the middle of the room and looking around. He slowly walks to her and says "Hayley why don't you go up and rest"

Hayley looks up towards their room. She cannot bear to go the room which she had shared with Klaus for the past one and a half month but she cannot stand there the whole day so she nods and takes Hope up. The first change she notices in their room is the crib next to her bed. She walks towards it and picks up a card placed in the middle of the beautifully made up bed. She opens and reads it

_"Congratulations. Welcome home baby girl._

_ Love aunty Rebekah, Uncle Kol and uncle Elijah._


	4. Chapter 4

**_6 months later_**

Elijah is pacing in his study thinking about what has happened earlier that day. He has just wrapped up his meeting with Jackson. Jackson wants Hayley to come live in the bayou with them. Jackson thinks that even though Hayley has not turned, she is the mother of the last living survival of Labonair- a royal family. If she lives in bayou then by the time her daughter grows up she will be ready to lead the pack under the circumstances that she tuned or want to choose that life style. Elijah thinks about his brother's last request and then he leaves the compound and heads to the plantation house.

Hayley is standing near the window looking out. She cannot believe it that it is already 6 months since Klaus has left her. In the beginning she was lost. If Rebekah, Elijah and Kol were not there to give her their support she wouldn't have survived this long. She has never realized how weak and vulnerable she is until Klaus's death. During these past six months she has learned to be strong for her daughter. In the beginning she thought that she will not last without him but with the passage of time things got better. The ache of his loss is still there but she has learned to live with it. She has a beautiful daughter, his family which was her family too. She is starting to see the sun light peeking through the dark clouds that had covered the sky. She does not realize that she is rubbing her ring finger. She looks down at her hand goes into the walking closet and sits down on the floor. She looks at her finger and gently takes out the ring and after looking at it for a couple of minutes she puts it inside the box where she keeps all her prized possession. She gently closes the box.

Elijah enters the house and goes to the library. She is normally found there but today she is not there so he starts to climb up the stairs. He stops outside her room and then glances at Klaus's room across the room and remembers when after one week of coming back from the hospital Hayley refused to live in that room because it reminded her too much of Klaus. She is back in the room where she used to live before Klaus asked her to marry him. He sighs and then seeing the door of her room wide open he peeks inside her room and sees her sitting on the floor outside the walking closet. He walks in and sees that she is taking off her ring and putting it in the box. That just breaks his heart. He gently says "Hayley"

She is startled and looks up and seeing Elijah brings a smile on her lips. Elijah relaxes. It is good to see her smiling again. He then turns and goes to the crib and sees his niece sleeping peacefully. Hayley has come and is standing next to him now. He looks at her side ways

"She is beautiful" and then he adds "I am glad that she is taken after you". At which she looks at him and just smiles because she knows how much Elijah loves his brother and misses him. Then Elijah suddenly says to her "Hayley Jackson came today"

When Hayley looks at him in surprise he continues "He wants you and Hope to move to bayou"

Hayley continues to look at him in surprise and then before she knows it the words come out of her mouth "Do you want us to go from here?"

She was not prepared to see the sudden appearance of anger on his face. "Of course not. Why would you think that?" Elijah asks her angrily and then he says a little calmly "I don't want you and Hope to go anywhere. I wanted to tell you what Jackson thinks but I don't want to impose anything on you. It is your life and you have a right to decide but I am Hope's uncle and I have some say in what is good for her"

She is so touched by those words and asks him "and what is that?"

Elijah looks at her for a couple of seconds. Those eyes are so mesmerizing and honest. 'How can someone like Niklaus not fall for someone like her?" he thinks. He then realizes that she is still waiting for an answer so he says "I think we should try to keep her away from supernatural community. You have managed to keep your gene untriggered so we should hope that for Hope too. And that is only possible if she has less contact with that kind of life".

She looks at him thinking and then nods. He then bends down on Hope and kisses her on the forehead and then leaves.

When he enters the compound he sees Sophie standing there. She looks angry. "What happened?" he asks her while going to the sitting room.

"You forgot our meeting" Sophie says angrily

"Oh yes" Elijah suddenly remembers that they were supposed to meet and discuss some issues about the witches of the French Quarter.

"I am sorry I had to talk to Hayley about something really important. Why don't you come in and we can discuss it now" He says to her

"No I don't want to talk right now" Sophie snaps.

Elijah looks at her in surprise. He puts his hands in his pockets and before he can say anything Sophie asks him "where were you yesterday? We were supposed to meet for drink in the bar"

Elijah suddenly remembers and realizing that he has stood her up make him feel very guilty. He advance towards her and holds her hand and says "I am sorry I will with Hay…" but Sophie cuts him off "Don't you dare say Hayley" which shocks him even more

"What is happening over here?" Elijah asks her

"You tell me" Sophie says. Then seeing his confused expressions she bursts "I know she is grieving but I think she can handle one or two day without you Or is it that you want to spend time with her?"

Her words sting him and he says "What are you talking about? She is my brother's wife and my sister…" but Sophie cuts him off by saying "No Elijah, she _was_ your brother's wife. She _is his widow_ now and she _definitely is not your sister_"

She then turns and without saying anything leaves leaving a very stunned Elijah staring at her back.

**_Ten months later_**

Elijah walks in the plantation house and looks for her. When he cannot find her he walks upstairs to her room which is wide open. He leans against the door. She is sitting on the bed with Hope in her lap and showing her their wedding picture. And then Elijah's heart jumps to his throat when he hears her say to Hope "Hope love, look daddy".

Elijah can feel a lump in his throat. He turns and walks down and leaves without letting her know that he was there.

Hayley shifts Hope across her shoulder and puts the picture back on the table. She then feeds her and after changing her she puts her down in her crib and switch on the mobile. Then she picks up the book she has been trying to finish for the past 1 week. She smiles when she opens the book and thinks how quickly she used to finish her books when…. She shakes her head to get him out of her mind and start to read the book but her heart is not into it so she closes it and closes her eyes thinking about last couple of months. She has resumed her job in the library again which she had stopped after Hope was born. She would take Hope with her and leave her in the day care in the library. She has managed to keep herself busy. What little time she gets, she spends it with Hope reading her books, talking to her. Recently she has started telling her about her father. She knows that Hope does not understand a word she is saying but the look on her face when she tells her about him is just heart melting. Rebekah and Kol has been giving her a lot of company. Elijah has been visiting her at least 3 times a week. He loves Hope. In fact everyone loves Hope but somehow Hope has taken to Elijah very quickly. Hayley loves it when he picks her up, tickles her and reads to her. Often Hope goes to sleep in his lap then she would take her away from him to her crib.

**_One year later_**

Elijah is reading her a story when he hears Rebekah and Kol arguing

"But she is turning one year old we have to do it" Rebekah was saying

"Rebekah it is the same day her father died. I don't think Hayley would want to celebrate is" Kol is saying

Elijah has stopped reading so Hope who is snuggled against his chest turns her head towards him touches her cheek with her hand. Elijah looks down and holds her hand and kisses it and then resumes the book.

"Elijah what do you say?" Rebekah is asking him

"What are you guys talking about?" Elijah does not look away from the book and asks them in between the sentence he is reading from the book.

"Her birthday is coming next week and I think we should celebrate it but Kol thinks that it is not a good idea" Rebekah says with frustration.

Elijah stops reading making Hope turn her head to him again but this time she just stare at him. Elijah is thinking 'has it already been a year' when Hayley enters the room and says "Rebekah is right we should celebrate her birthday. I don't want her birth to be marked by her father's death. Klaus wouldn't have wanted that". She smiles at Hope who is sitting cozily in her uncle's lap. Then she starts to pick up her stuff from the room and put them in their rightful places.

**_A week later_**

Hayley's heart is not into it but she wants to be there for her daughter. She dresses her in a beautiful pink dress and puts a clip on her head. She then stands in front of the mirror and looks at herself. She has dressed up today after a long time. She consciously tries to smooth the front of her blue dress which reaches just above her knees. She then picks her up and goes down. Rebekah is already there putting up the candle on a Cinderella themed cake. Kol is sitting on the sofa chair in front of the fire place which is glowing yellow from the heat of the log, his legs swinging over the arm of the chair. He gets up and goes to her to take Hope from her when he sees them coming down.

Elijah looks at his watch while driving towards plantation house. He looks sideways at Sophie and smiles. They are late because of the crescent wolves and witches negotiation meeting. He thinks about the past 6 months he has been seeing Sophie and start to smile at the happy memories. He remembers when he realized her feelings for him for the first time and that was at her outburst about Hayley but after he had reassured her many times she had decided to give their relationship a try and they have been going strong since then.

They hurriedly get out of his car and almost run inside because they are very late. Once inside they realize that they are the last one to come. Cami, father K, Rebekah, Kol and Davina are already there.

Hayley had agreed to have a small birthday celebration for Hope with just the closest friends. Elijah walks in and takes Hope from her. He kisses her and then give her back for the cake cutting. They cut the cake singing 'Happy birthday' to Hope. Each one of them has given her a gift.

Elijah is sitting on the couch with Sophie next to him when he hears Hayley's laughter. He looks towards her and sees her talking to Kol who is giving her a big stuffed whale. He smiles and puts his arm around Sophie bring her near her. Then he sees Rebekah walking toward her.

Rebekah sits down next to Hayley and gives her a box. Elijah is looking at them when she opens the box. Elijah smiles sadly as he sees her take out the knight and then he hears Rebekah saying to her "Nik made this for me one day when I was scared of thunder storms. I was 6. I want Hope to have something of her father's"

Hayley stares at the beautifully carved knight and suddenly feels her eyes go blur. She looks up but Rebekah is gone. By this time Hope is starting to feel tired so she yawn and start to get restless. Hayley gets up and takes her upstairs. She is putting Hope in her crib when she hears him enter her room. He stops next to her near the crib and says "Quiet a day she had. She must be tired". He looks sideways and sees that she is wiping her tears.

"we all miss him Hayley. I think he will be happy to know what you are doing for your daughter" he puts his hand on her hand for a split second and then he bends down and gives Hope a kiss on her forehead and puts a jewelry box next to her saying "Happy birthday darling". Then he leaves.

After he has gone Hayley opens the box slowly and takes out the beautiful diamond bracelet. She smiles at it and gently closes it back.


	5. Chapter 5

**3 years later**

Elijah enters the plantation house. He looks around the house and sighs. Then he calls her "Hope, Look what I have brought for you?" In a few seconds he hears running footsteps. He turns towards the sound and smiles when he sees her running in her bare feet and hugs his legs saying "daddy".

Elijah is bending down to pick her up but hearing "daddy" from her mouth stops him in the track and he feels as if someone has punched in his stomach. He feels a lump in his throat. He shakes his head and sits on his feet. Hope is looking at his face eagerly without realizing what she has said. There is no embarrassment or shyness on her face. Elijah shows her his hand which he had on his back and sees excitement on her face. Hearing her squeal in pleasure makes his all worries go away. She takes the doll from his hand and sits down on the floor next to him.

Hayley comes down the stairs. She has heard Elijah's voice. She stops on the last step and her heart melts seeing her daughter sitting with Elijah on the floor. She smiles at both of them. It is just so strange to see a 1000 year old vampire who always wears suits and who is really sophisticated sitting crisscrossed legs on the floor with her daughter. Hayley walks towards them and see that she is holding a doll and running her fingers through the doll's hair. Elijah looks up at her. His expressions are strange today. She asks him with a smile "hello Elijah. How is it going?"

Elijah looks up at Hayley. He is still really emotional about what Hope has said to him. Before he can say anything Hope is telling Hayley "Mommy. Doll"

"It is beautiful. Did you say thank you to Uncle Elijah?" Hayley says

Elijah feels as if someone has stomped on his heart. Before he can say anything he hears her say "Thanks you".

Elijah leans forward and picks her up in impulse and stands up. He kisses her on the cheek and says "your welcome love".

As soon as the words are out of his mouth his head snaps towards Hayley who has gasped and realizes what he has said.

Hayley is smiling at Elijah kissing her daughter when she hears it. Hearing it from his mouth reminds her of him. She gasps and before she can stop it, her vision gets blurry, she turns and runs upstairs not stopping at Elijah's calling her name.

She is leaning against the door trying to calm herself when she hears a knock on the door. She wipes her cheeks and opens the door. She tries to smile at Elijah who is saying "I am sorry Hayley"

"No, no you didn't do anything" she tries to assure him.

He stays there for a couple of seconds and his gaze fall on their wedding picture on her bed side table. He then turns and without saying anything he leaves.

Elijah visits Hope and Hayley almost every day. Hope is really getting attached to him. One day when he comes in the house he sees Hayley trying to pick Hope from the floor while she is saying "I no want to". Elijah hurries to them and asks her what happened

"I want to cut her hair a bit. They are coming in her eyes but she is not sitting still" Hayley says annoyingly.

Elijah laughs and sits on his feet and picks her up. She continues "no want to".

When he stands up with her in his arms. She suddenly cups his face in her hands and say "tell mommy. No"

Elijah takes her to the couch in the sitting room with Hayley following them. He removes the beautiful dark brown locks of hair out of her eyes and says "Hope honey your hair are coming in your eyes. Mommy just wants to cut them a little bit so that you can see. Look" he brings some of her hair in front of her eyes and says "can you see me?"

When Hope shakes her head vigorously he moves the beautiful locks of hair from her eyes and says "see mommy just want to cut a little bit" but she starts to pout. He looks at Hayley helplessly and then says "How about I hold her in my lap while you cut her hair?"

A couple of minutes later Hope is sitting in his lap licking a lollypop and Hayley is cutting her bangs. She says jokingly to him "Thank you Uncle Elijah. If you had not come mommy was having really trouble cutting my hair"

Rebekah walks into his house and freezes with her one foot in the air. She turns around and motions Kol to come in.

Kol walks in looking around his brother's house. How much time may pass he will never stop missing him. His anger, his taunts, his insecurities all will be with him always and forever. He stops and looks in the sitting room. Elijah is sitting with Hope in his lap and Hayley is cutting her hair.

"Instead of standing there why don't you two come in" Elijah's voice snaps them out of their trance.

"Wow hair cut sweetie" Kol moves to Hope and picks her up from his lap and tickles her with his face. She starts to giggle.

Hayley cleans up the hair on the ground and smiles at Rebekah "Hey where were you yesterday? We were supposed to meet for coffee".

"I am sorry I got held up…" she says and then adds mischievously "with Andrew"

"Hey hey kids here" Kol says annoyingly. At which Rebekah throws him the cushion which he avoids by ducking making Hope laugh. Hayley laughs too. Elijah turns at the sound and sees her laughing. It is good to see her laugh. He sits down on the couch. Hope gets off Kol's lap, comes and gets on his. She cups his face and says "doll"

"I gave you a doll. Where is it?" he asks

He knows that Kol is looking at him but he ignores his stares and keep his eyes fixed on Hope. Hope looks at Hayley and says "Mommy doll"

Elijah looks at Hayley who is talking to Rebekah and thinks 'yes she is a doll. Now I understand why your daddy loved her'. He is shocked to realize what he has just thought. He shakes his head and leans in and kisses her on the cheek and says "I will bring you another one okay?"

She smiles and start to play with the buttons of his coat. Hayley makes coffee for him whereas Kol and Rebekah take drinks for themselves. After a couple of minutes Kol looks at his brother, with Hope in his lap now sleeping, and him gazing into the fire. They stay for a couple of minutes and then leave whereas Elijah stays behind.

He is lost in his thought and when Hayley bends down to pick her up making him realize that Hope has gone to sleep.

When she comes down he is gone.

A couple of days pass by and Elijah has not visited. Hope is really cranky that day. She is trying to soothe her down when she hears his voice. She smiles and says to Hope "There. See I told you uncle Elijah will come visit you". Hope gets out of her lap hearing his voice and runs down.

Hayley sees him lift her in the air from the top of the stairs. Seeing him lift her in the air and hearing her squeal of laughter just melts her heart. After greeting him she starts to do some chores that she has not been able to finish because of Hope's mood since morning. She comes in Hope's room and is hanging her dress in the closet when she hears her say "daddy look flower". She freezes and look at her sitting next to Elijah on the floor showing him a flower.

Elijah is saying to her "yes, I see that Hope. That is a pink flower".

Hayley feels a lump in her throat.

That night when Hayley is trying to put her to bed. Hope looks at Klaus's picture and says "Daddy!" Hayley can see confusion on her daughter's face. How can a 3 year old child understand that a man who she has never seen is her father whereas the man who has been there for her from the time she opened her eyes is not her father. She kisses the top of her head and takes out the picture of her, Klaus and Elijah taken on their wedding day and says pointing at Elijah's picture "Hope, daddy"

She sees her beam at Elijah's picture and her heart melts when she hears her say "daddy"

Two weeks later Rebekah and Kol are visiting her. Elijah has not yet come. Hayley and Rebekah are in the kitchen talking about the movie they had seen yesterday and Hope is sitting on Kol's lap playing with her doll's hair.

Elijah really had a tiring day. The crescent wolves and Guerra's are not getting along. He runs his hand through his hair thinking about the 5 hour negotiation meeting that he is coming from. His hand is on the entrance door when a sudden image of Klaus yelling "_Kill them all. Why are you wasting your precious time listening to their nonsense"_ comes in his mind and he smiles sadly. He then pushes the door and enters the house. He says "Hey I am here. I …" when she comes running towards him. He bends down and picks her up.

Hope looks up from her doll and excitedly says "daddy!" She gets off Kol's lap and runs to the door. Kol and Rekebah look at Hayley in shock and then they turn unanimously to the entrance of sitting room as Elijah enters with Hope in his arms. She has her hand on his cheek and doll under her arm and she is saying "daddy, doll found".

Elijah smiles and says "I see that" and kisses her on her cheek.

Rebekah and Kol turn towards Hayley who smiles sadly and quietly leaves the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

Elijah has been so busy in reading the papers that he lost track of time. He is feeling tired now and realizes that the sun has come up. He looks at the clock and sees that it is 7 am. He knows that they will be up so he pick up his cell and calls her. Hayley tells him that Hope has been missing him a lot. Elijah's feels a tug at her heart and he tells her that he wants to talk to her and then he hears it. A smile appears on his mouth. She has been calling him "Daddy" for six months now but he has still not gotten used to it. Every time she calls him that it tugs at his heart and he feels the lump in his throat. His sense of responsibility increases every time he hears the word "daddy" from her mouth.

He asks her "Hope sweetie, how are you?"

There is silence on the other end so Elijah says "You missed me today. Mommy told me. I promise I will come tonight" he kisses the speaker of the phone as if she is standing there and puts it down. HE then opens his drawer and takes out the letter that he has read hundreds of time. He leans back in his chair and start to read it again. With every word his heart sinks. He gets up and walks to the window. He is looking out of the window when his cell rings. He picks up the phone and smiles after reading the called Id. He puts it on his ears and his smile slides away and he is running out.

Hayley rubs her eyes while driving. She looks in the rare view mirror at Hope who is busy playing with her doll. She smiles at her and rubs her eyes again. She is feeling really tired because of lack of sleep last night. Hope has been missing Elijah and has kept her up. She does not know how and when but she dozes off. There is a loud bang and she opens her eyes just in time to see her car turned turtle and the last thing she hears is Hope's cries. She does not know how long she is unconscious but when her eyes open next she is still trapped in the car. She tries to open her seat belt but it is stuck. She can feel blood on her hand and face and a terrible pain in her stomach. She looks down and see blood on her torso. At the lack of sound she immediately turn her head to the back seat and see Hope still strapped in her car seat and unconscious. At first look Hope looks uninjured but when Hayley looks at her closely she sees blood seeping on her temple.

She calls her "Hope love don't worry mommy is here".

Before she knows it she is looking for her cell in her jeans pocket. She takes it out and dials Elijah's number. When she hears his voice she says desperately "Elijah I had an accident please…" before she can finish her sentence she hears Elijah next to her and trying to pry open her belt.

"No" she stops him and says pleadingly "Hope, check on her first. She is bleeding Elijah". Elijah eyes snap to the back of the car and his heart stops. He has no idea that Hope was in the car too. HE quickly takes her car seat out and checks on her but she is unconscious.

Hayley is looking at Elijah and see that he is checking on her breathing. Her heart stops and she says "Elijah please save her".

Then she starts to feel dizzy and the last thing she sees is Elijah biting into his wrists.

Elijah suddenly bites his wrist and take the blood from his wrist with his finger and puts in on Hope's tiny lips. She start to heal right in front of his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Epilogue**

Rebekah looks up from reading the book when she hears the sound of running steps and see the anxious face of her niece. She closes the book and pays her full attention to her very anxious five year old face.

"Aunt Bekah, daddy is not doing it" she says with frustration

"What sweetie? What is he not doing? She smiles and asks her

"Come come, tell him to do it" Hope says her almost pleading and then holds her hand and pulls her.

Elijah is standing looking out of window when he hears Hope saying to Rebekah "You tell him to do it please"

He smiles and continues gazing out of window.

Rebekah walks into his room being dragged in by Hope. She sees him standing near the window and looks at Hope and asks her "what do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him to wear this" Hope picks up a tiara from the chair and gives it to her to hand it over to him.

Rebekah laughs and kisses her on the cheek and says "Okay I will talk to him. Why don't you go and ask uncle Kol to wear it for you"

Hope suddenly grins. She seem to like the idea. She takes the tiara from Rebekah and runs out screaming "uncle Kol, uncle Kol"

Rebekah walks up to Elijah who has still not turned towards them. She looks at him and then sees the letter in his hand. She gently takes the letter which she knows he had read thousands of time from his hand and start to read. Her eyes get wet when her gaze travel through each word written in his brother's handwriting.

_"Elijah if you are reading this then it means I have been successful in doing what I have been planning to do. I know what you are thinking and yes I have done something __**again **__behind your back but I had no other option. If I had told you about it, you wouldn't have let me do it. And I had to do it for my daughter and Hayley. _

_Sophie has been helping me take down our parents. She has linked us. I am doing what she did to us in Mystic Falls but I think I will be successful. The only way to insure that it will work is if I sacrifice myself. Killing myself will kill them too and also my blood line but I am willing to do that for my family. _

_Elijah you have stood by me for my whole life. There were times when I pushed you away but you didn't. You never lost hope in me. Please show that kind of dedication to my daughter and Hayley too. I know I am asking a lot from you but you know me how selfish I can get sometime. I want you to get out of the guilt that you have been carrying with you for 1000 years. I have forgiven you so you should forgive yourself too. I have given you a really hard time and my only regret is that I don't have time to make up for it. _

_I want to hold my daughter and tell her that she is loved by her father but if I am unable to don't let her feel the absence of a father ever. She will forever and always be my family. You promise me that you will take care of Hayley and my daughter. You promise me that you will not let Hayley trigger her gene. I am pretty sure our daughter will be supernatural too so I want you to promise me that you will not let her turn. I want you to insure that she will have a normal, happy and healthy life. Promise me Elijah you will do that. _

_I love my family. I have always been afraid of showing that to you, Rebekah and Kol but I do love you a lot and I am sorry that I have not said it enough. _

_Always and forever _

_Klaus_

Rebekah lifts her eyes to Elijah who says without looking at her "I couldn't keep my promise to him Rebekah. I couldn't protect her"

She wipes her eyes and touches him on his shoulder and says "Elijah you did. **You saved** Hope. Hayley and Nik wanted their daughter to live and you saved her."


End file.
